Serafina
Serafina was a major character and the secondary antagonist who featured in the fourteenth Dark Parables game, Return of the Salt Princess. She was the elder sister of Mercy, a fire witch, and a royal guard to Princess Brigid. Serafina doesn't seem to have based on a fairy-tale character, but she does fill in the role of the older sister in The Princess Who Loves Her Father More Than Salt ''and seems to have origins in the alchemy ritual of creating homunculi. Appearance and Personality Serafina had long, reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. She had nails sharp like claws and painted in a shade of pink. She wore a striped red and gold shirt, grey trousers and black boots. She also wore a black cape with grey trim and detached red cuffs on her wrist. On her head was a black and grey hat that leaned to one side. Serafina, true to her symbolism, is boyish in style. Unlike her sister Mercy, Serafina was impulsive and quick to express her emotions. As a royal guard and sister figure to Princess Brigid, she was very loyal to her and had a deep protectiveness towards the Princess, claiming to kill anyone who dared to try and harm her. Her feelings, however, became her faults as they made her a "failure" to her creator, and in Mercy's eyes. It was also this feelings that she had low self-esteem, as she tends to criticize herself often and can get easily fooled, as shown when Mercy successfully manipulated her. Despite having a flaw of emotion, she had a morale boost compared to her sister, who only had the brains. Although at the beginning she had evil intentions, it was only because she wanted to live the happy life she had before with Brigid and Mercy before the kingdom collapse and thought she could get it by following her sister's whims, only to realize it would never happen as she implies it was all a "lie". Serafina proved herself much more than Mercy by doing the right thing. Even if she fails to see herself worthy, the audience can agree that she is much better than her sister. History When King Henryk of the Grak Kingdom adopted Princess Brigid, he worried about her safety and entrusted the Royal Advisor to create the perfect guards. After much experimenting, the Royal Advisor created a pair of dolls who were loyal and obedient and had the ability to heal themselves. However, unbeknown to the King, the dolls' first loyalty was to their creator, who needed the Princess in her plan for revenge. The doll created with a sulfur core, Serafina initially had no name but was eventually inspired to name herself after her heart material. For many years, Serafina and her sister Mercy guarded Princess Brigid and Serafina would grow to love the Princess like a sister. This ability to feel human emotions rendered Serafina a 'failure' in the eyes of both the Royal Advisor and Mercy. One day, Brigid came to Serafina for advice on how to answer the King's question about how much she loved him. Serafina suggested comparing her love to gold, but Brigid was not satisfied with the answer. When the Princess came up with her own answer and was banished from the Grak Kingdom, Serafina and Mercy tried to beg the King to reconsider, but his answer did not change. Once Brigid left, King Henryk insisted that Serafina and her sister stay in the palace which collapsed on top of them after hidden bombs were detonated. Though she didn't die, Serafina entered a coma-like sleep and needed time to repair and heal herself. Eventually, a hundred years passed and Mercy woke up Serafina. They couldn't find their creator and so decided to fulfill her last wish: to perform the Salt Enchantment Ceremony and turn the world into salt. In order to do that, however, they needed to get Brigid to come back so Serafina wrote a letter and gave the kingdom's seal on it. The sisters also enslaved Nuada (who had been trapped with them in the salt mine) with the Magic of Compulsion to get him to find Brigid. When they learned Brigid had returned, Serafina and Mercy searched separately in the Old Town to find her. When Brigid turned a bridge into salt, Serafina became trapped under the rubble but was rescued by the timely arrival of the Fairytale Detective; as thanks, Serafina cleared the path to town for her. She later met the Detective in the old Grak palace and destroyed some dragonflies, claiming that they were even. When the Detective told her about Brigid, Serafina was quick to anger as she claimed that she'd kill whoever harmed the Princess and disappeared in flames, lighting some areas of the room in fire. She and Mercy tried to get rid of the dragonflies to get to Brigid, but there were too many of them. With the Detective's help, the dragonflies were no longer a problem, but there was still a gap that separated them from the Princess. Luckily, the Detective got the bridge to lower, but before any of them could cross over, there was a loud roar. A dragon was hovering above before landing, causing Serafina and her sister to be pushed away. Just as the dragon was about to attack the Detective, she quickly ran in front of the Detective to block out the flames. However, Serafina got slammed into a wall when the dragon swats her aside with his tail. Injured from her encounter with Solais, Serafina revealed to the Detective that Brigid had been taken to Solwood. After some time to recover, Serafina and Mercy joined the Detective in the Forest of No Return. Immediately, during her search, Serafina got lost in the forest. By the time she met with Mercy, they got out of the forest. Seeing more dragonflies in the Throne Room, they saw the Detective on the floor covered with dragonflies. After Mercy have washed the salt away, Serafina explained what had happened before giving the Detective the artifacts on Mercy's instructions. When she was questioned by the Detective, she explained that she was never near the lake before leaving to find Brigid. After the Detective fixed the fire circle, Mercy and Serafina had caught up with Brigid. However, Serafina was found arguing with Mercy, distraught that she had harmed the princess. After Mercy told her otherwise, they noticed the Detective. Explaining their plans, Serafina set the library on fire at Mercy's command, telling the Detective to forgive her for endangering the woman's life before leaving. After taking Brigid to the Salt Mines, Serafina stands guard outside the library while Mercy prepares for the ceremony. When the Detective returned to Nuada, Prince of the Daemon Evokers, Serafina expresses disappointment that the Detective decided to stay. She warned the duo that if they want Brigid back, they'll have to go through her first before jumping into the Salt Mines. Confronted by Nuada, Serafina started taunting him after throwing a blast of fire on him. Once the Detective has an axe she cut down the chain that held up the chandelier. Although the fallen chandelier didn't kill Serafina, it did create cracks in her skin and revealed her sulfur heart gem embedded in her chest. She laughs and taunts the Detective for her futile attempt to kill her, but Brigid intervened, pleading with the Royal Guard that she didn't have to go through with the Salt Enchantment Ceremony and that they can leave for a peaceful life together. All she has to do is let the princess go. When Serafina decides to listen to Brigid and apologized for tricking her into coming back, she got stabbed in the back by Mercy, who coldly remarks that she was always a failure. Betrayed by Mercy, Serafina criticized herself for being manipulated. Knowing she would die from her fatal wound, Serafina urged the Detective to save Brigid as her dying wish before giving her her sulfur heart gem. She expressed a longing for her happy past with sisters but claimed that Mercy never loved them. From her death and the destruction of her heart gem (already weakened from Mercy and completely destroyed by the Detective), the curse on Brigid's daemon, Dracaena, weakens enough for the princess to summon the baby dragon. Powers and Abilities * [[Fire Manipulation|'Fire Manipulation']]: Infused with the element of fire, Serafina has the ability to conjure and manipulate flames. Serafina's fire is magical and cannot be put out by mundane means. Her affinity for fire also makes her immune to this element, including dragon fire. * 'Longevity: Being a mud doll, Serafina doesn't age as humans do. She has lived for a little over a hundred years. * '''Healing Powers: Serafina can heal or "repair" herself of mortal injuries, so long as the wound isn't fatal or near her heart gem. * Teleportation: Serafina can appear or disappear in bursts of flames at any place she wants. Relationships * Mercy (younger sister/murderer, deceased) * Royal Advisor (creator, fate unknown) * Princess Brigid (younger sister figure) * Nuada (enemy, deceased) * Solais (enemy, extinct) * King Henryk (enemy, deceased) * Fairytale Detective (former enemy) Relevant Parables 'The Exiled Salt Princess '(from Return of the Salt Princess) Once upon a time, there was a King who had only one daughter whom he loved very much. As time passed, the King grew old, but the Princess remained as young as ever. One day, the King asked the Princess how much she loved him. "Why is my father asking me this?" the Princess wondered. "Of course, I love him. He is my father after all. How can I express my love for him?" Now there were two guards whom the Princess loved as sisters. The Princess asked one of her guards, "What should I say?" "How about comparing him to gold?" suggested the guard. "It's very valuable, and you love the King just as much." The Princess felt that gold was not the answer. Then, the Princess asked her other guard, who was clever and level-headed. "How about comparing your love to jewels?" suggested the guard. "They are very precious, and you love the King just as much." The Princess was still not satisfied by this shallow answer. Finally, she arrived at her own answer. "I love you just as much as salt," the Princess told the King. "This Kingdom's wealth is built on salt. You are as precious to me as salt is to our Kingdom. More importantly, the power of salt has protected me since I was born, just as you have protected me," the Princess declared. The King replied, "Very well, let the power of salt protect you from now on. You are hereby banished from this Kingdom." Thus, the Princess was exiled and forbidden from returning to her Kingdom unless summoned by the King. No matter how the Princess and her guards begged and bargained, nobody could change the King's mind. The next day, the Princess left her Kingdom crying. The cold in the air matched the chill in her heart. Legends say that the King watched his daughter depart with mournful eyes. 'Sisters made from Sulfur and Mercury '(from ''Return of the Salt Princess'') Once upon a time, there was a King who worried about his daughter's safety and tried in vain to find suitable guards for her. Seeing his dilemma, his Royal Advisor told the King, "I will create for you the perfect guards - loyal, obedient, powerful, and with the ability to heal themselves." The King agreed, and the Royal Advisor, who was a witch, experimented with her magic, discarding many mud dolls until she finally created two perfect dolls. One doll has a heart of sulfur, and the other had a heart of mercury. The dolls were everything the Royal Advisor promised: loyal, obedient, powerful, and they had the ability to heal themselves of the most mortal wounds. However, what the King did not know was that the dolls' first loyalty was to the Royal Advisor, and not the King or the Princess. The witch commanded the dolls to guard the Princess, as the witch needed the Princess for her plan of revenge. The dolls obediently guarded the Princess as she grew up, and being around the Princess caused them to learn to feel human emotions. When the Princess asked them for their names, the dolls realized that their creator had given them no names. Thus, the dolls named each other, taking inspiration from the materials their hearts were created from. The dolls grew to love the Princess like a sister. However, no matter how much the dolls loved the Princess; they still remembered their first loyalty was their creator and that they were mere dolls, not humans. Their idyllic life was not to last though, for suddenly one day, the Princess left the palace. Not long after that, the palace collapsed, trapping the dolls. After many years, the dolls finally repaired themselves enough to wake up in the ruins of the palace. They found that the witch had left. Having no other purpose, the two dolls decided to obey their last orders and carry out the witch's plan for revenge. To do this, they would first need to find the Princess and lure her back to the kingdom. Trivia * The name Serafina means 'ardent' while the Hebrew meaning is 'fiery-winged' or 'fiery-ones'. * Serafina is voiced by Lani Minella, best known for her role as the title character of the Nancy Drew video game series. Quotes Quotes by Serafina * "Thanks for the save. My name is Serafina. Right now, I'm looking for my sister. She should be in town somewhere." * "You're looking to get into this town too? But no one lives there anymore. Well, since you helped me out, let me return the favor and clear the path to town for you." * "Surprised by my powers? I'm one of the Princess's royal guards. I need to go find my sister. Good luck to you, stranger." * "I must find Princess Brigid. As the older sister, it's my job to protect her, no matter where she goes." * "Princess Brigid is too weak to stand up? Who did this to her? I will kill anyone who hurts the Princess." * "Mercy says that once Brigid is back, we can go back to our old lives together. I can't wait." * "I'm so stupid. I should have known that Mercy would lie to me. Unlike me, she is a perfect creation. She is willing to do anything, even sacrifice Brigid to finish her mission." * "Our creator always considered me a failure. My feelings get in the way of my missions. Mercy is the perfect one, not me." * "Mercy dealt me a fatal blow. Soon, I will just be an unmoving shell. As my dying wish, please save Brigid." * "All I wanted was for Brigid, Mercy, and I to be together again. But I guess our past was a lie anyway. Mercy never loved us." Quotes about Serafina * "What a destructive power she has! I can see why she didn't try to use her powers to free herself." - Fairytale Detective * "As always, Serafina cannot stay out of trouble. As her sister, I apologize on her behalf." - Mercy * "Once again, Serafina surprises me with a display of her fiery power." - Fairytale Detective * "It's Serafina! Is she OK? The dragon threw her really hard. I should go check on her." - Fairytale Detective * "She's not a very good artist, is she?" - Fairytale Detective * "I always knew you were a failure. You have forgotten what we were made for."- Mercy Galleries Character= RSP_Serafina_trapped.jpg|Serafina trapped under rubble RSP_Serafina_introduces_herself.jpg|Serafina introduces herself RSP_Serafina_wonders_where_Mercy_is.jpg|Serafina wonders where Mercy is Serafinabody.jpg|Serafina in the corridor RSP Mercy and Serafina battle the dragonflies.jpg|Serafina fights the dragonflies with her sister RSP_Serafina_rushes_to_defend_Detective.jpg|Serafina rushes to defend the Detective RSP_Serafina_blocks_the_flames.jpg|Serafina blocks the dragon flames RSP_Serafina_injured.jpg|Serafina injured RSP_Serafina_holds_flower_brooch.jpg|Serafina holds flower brooch RSP_Serafina_rests_in_salon.jpg|Serafina rests in the Salon after her fight with Solais RSP_Mercy_and_Serafina_in_the_forest.jpg|Serafina with Mercy in the Forest of No Return RSP_Serafina_gives_artifacts.jpg|Serafina gives Detective the artifacts RSP_Serafina_begs_Mercy.jpg|Serafina begs Mercy not to hurt Brigid RSP Confrontation.jpg|Serafina confronted by Nuada in the salt mine RSP_Serafina_taunts_Nuada.jpg|Serafina taunts Nuada RSP_Serafina_after_chandelier_crash.jpg|Serafina after the chandelier crashed on her RSP_Serafina_relents.jpg|Serafina listens to Brigid's pleads RSP Mercy stabs Serafina.jpg|Serafina gets stabbed by Mercy RSP_Serafina_removes_her_heart_core.jpg|Serafina removes her heart core RSP_Serafina's_empty_shell.jpg|Serafina's empty shell |-|Concept Art= RSP Serafina concept art.jpg|Serafina concept art Serafina_and_Mercy_concept_art_BTGI.jpg|Serafina costume concept art from Blue Tea Games Instagram |-|Depictions= RSP Royal Advisor Serafina and Mercy portraits.jpg|Serafina depicted with the Royal Advisor and Mercy, Return of the Salt Princess Dp14popup33.jpg|Serafina depiction in Royal Advisor's diary, Return of the Salt Princess Dp14popup46.jpg|Serafina depicted in storybook #2, Return of the Salt Princess |-|Artifacts= Dp14popup35.jpg|Note written by Serafina #1 Dp14popup39.jpg|Note written by Serafina #2 |-|Other Images= RSP Sisters made from Sulfur and Mercury parable.jpg|Sisters made from Sulfur and Mercury parable DP14 wallpaper011 1920x1080.jpg|Serafina Wallpaper DP14-Chara2.jpg|Serafina Wallpaper #2 IMG 4392.JPG|Serafina in the beta screen RSP_Serafina_difficulty_button.jpg|Serafina difficulty level button Category:Return of the Salt Princess Category:Females Category:Characters Category:Allies Category:Witches Category:Antagonists Category:Deceased Category:Dolls